Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Lowered to $18.50 at TD Cowen

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price trimmed by TD Cowen from $20.00 to $18.50 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BEN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $20.95 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.96. The company has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.92%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.